GOOD READING! Sharing emails sent by a friend.
Shirley Rivens Smith
srs-usasc@rcn.com
202-635-3138
Good Morning,
Just wanted to share this wonderful piece of information:
http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2007/04/albert-einstein-civil-rights-activist/
According to Gates, an African-American physicist "These examples have led him to conclude that "diversity actually matters, independent of the moral argument." Gates said he believes "there is a science of diversity out there waiting for scholars to discover it."
The issue is whether or not we want to embrace the responsibility we all share in asking ourselves simple questions like one that Einstein may have asked himself,
"What would my (My = my father, grandfather, great grand-father, (mother) etc.) life be like if I were black?"
Ask yourself a simple question like this --- How many of our young White/European American Boys have been shot and killed by our Police Officer here in United States?
Why is it that we don't know that Albert Einstein, a Jew and one of the most revered intelligent persons ever, was such an active fighter for Civil Rights here in America. While Einstein can make a general statement like "a disease of White people", we dare not. So we know that we have some Whites/European Americans who are not Racist, we just need to identify who they are. A good way would be to see who all aligns with our struggles, especially the rights of our Children!!
I wonder what other information is hidden from us?
Hey Bro. I didn't make the statement. Arguably the most intelligent human brain made that statement that Racism was a "disease of White People"! I and so many just endorse it. So, before you start this topical approach to analyzing the two situations, please take a few moments to allow what I wrote to marinate!
If you look at many of the articles written about Dillon Taylor (White Guy), you will see how these articles would like to make the incidents similar ---- like you are. While they may be similar from a tragedy of our youth (Black and White) being killed by Police Officers, I think that Michael Brown (Black Guy) is a result of so many more deep reasons that plague our Black Community!! As a Black Man, you should know this. Don't you think so? So, it is extremely harmful and dangerous to our community, especially our kids that you propagate such equality as it relates to the tragic incidents. You couldn't possibly be this Blind or disconnected from reality!
The mere fact that Albert Einstein's viewpoint/position and discussions have been kept secret all these years shows the position of our oppressors. Maybe Albert Einstein knew that as a Jew, he was just a light skin Black Man!! If you google his statement "disease of White People", you will see that others who knew Albert Einstein referenced his feeling of Blacks in America to Jews in Germany under Hitler.
I am betting that this information was so quiet that so many of our Civil Rights leaders never knew of it or it may have been a more focused upon statement!! You see, Einstein's theory of Relativity is very similar to his theory on Racism here in America!!
So, yes, we know of this case. I am sure that they are others but other than a "TOPICAL" similarity, the killings are totally different. SIX SHOTS, the 98% White Police Force and the Statistics Below says so. However, I sent out a post a few days ago about the inequalities of oppressive attitude in the area where Mr. Brown lived -- See below if you missed my previously sent email on the statistics.
So, while so many African Americans suffer from lack in solidarity from other African Americans who get up in the morning and put on BRICK Sunglasses as well as the lack of solidarity from other Black Cultures throughout the world, many of us get our reality. You see, Dubois "10%" talented tenth fleeing our communities didn't just affect us from our professionals, but also depleted our communities of our talented voices. So many who moved out assimilated into their new environments and accepted altered viewpoints -- Tarzan (our talented 10th) living in the jungle (amongst oppressors) and being part of the ape family for so long affected his viewpoint of the goals of his people. That is what Planet of the Apes was all about. Let's put some European Americans in a position like what African Americans have endured and see what the result is. I bet they get a whole lot of Reparations other than "welfare" (which really was set up for Whites and is still mostly utilized by Whites) and "Affirmative Action" -- which forces folks into the direction of fair -- but definitely not equal!!
So Robby, if you look at the deaths of young African American Men compared to young European American Men, the ratio of young European American Men being shot or beaten by Cops vs. our African American Men does not properly reflect the 12% African American population and the 6 shots into Mr. Brown. So, while the tragedy here is that both young men are dead, the bigger issue is that we need to psychologically change the mindset of people.
Maybe, we need to get the Catholic Church to take down all the Blonde Hair, Blue Jesus Statues and pictures from churches and from Text Books which psychologically has the world believing that Jesus, Mary, the Angels and everyone associated with "GOD" is of European Origin. Maybe they will give us back our True Stories that has been stolen, hidden away or lightened to psychologically oppress us. You see, my father imaged me differently so I don't have those limitations but somehow, so many in our community have been "Imaged" improperly!!
Here is an example to digest - When you think of Africa, what is the image that you have. Even for the "Black" mindset, I am sure it is not a very developed one as most of the images about Africa shown around the world are mostly jungle, animals, land rovers, shanty villages, etc. Imagine what the European American vision of Africa is!!
Maybe the DC Govt. will take on this issue as part of Mental Health ----- how RACISM psychological impairs our entire Community (Black and White). Maybe we can pass legislature to help with the crimes against humanity as so many of us (both Black and White) have been brainwashed. Maybe we should pass legislation that any new book published in United States should properly reflect history -- Let's teach from a Google Perspective on History -- thank god for the internet when it comes to Wars (Foreign and Domestic). Had it not been for the internet, we would still be in the dark about so much. Imagine how much of TRUTH in OURSTORY (Not History) we haven't begun to know as yet.
We all know that Christopher Columbus didn't discover America but that is one of the smaller brainwashing topics which is still being taught and needs to be addressed. We know that a lot of Art and Historical Documents, Artifacts and other items are in museums all over the world -- most probably have been stolen -- why haven't they been returned to their perspective countries? At some point, any country that holds items belonging to other Nations should be tried for War Crimes!!
The question came up in my household -- "how do we deliver on Reparations"? Maybe we can start here with the return of culture and truths about actual origins rather than continue to propagate falsehood. Maybe this will begin to unwind the mental chains of racism and prejudice that keeps the "class" system that you speak of. For sure, European Americans will be forced to learn OUR HISTORY instead of HIS (STORY). Maybe Kaya Henderson can install a class that every child has to participate in -- one hour a day dedicated to historical facts that will unwind the minds that is bombarded with racist information/attitude/programing, etc.
Make that a mandatory "history" class. Teach our kids about all the "Einstein's" of the world and their contribution to humanity. I will close this with ----- According to Gates, an African-American physicist"These examples have led him to conclude that "diversity actually matters, independent of the moral argument." Gates said he believes "there is a science of diversity out there waiting for scholars to discover it."
I AM WILLING TO BET THAT CLASSES ON "TRU-STORIES" (OUR HISTORY) WOULD GO A LONG WAY IN DISCOVERING (UNWRAVELLING) THE SCIENCE OF DIVERSITY.
Below -- Previously sent out in case you would like to re-read some dismal statistics!!
DAILY KOS
MON AUG 18, 2014 AT 01:59 PM PD
THE REALITY OF FERGUSON BEGINS TO APPEAR
Whenever things make absolutely no sense to you, it may make sense to someone.
And nine times out of ten, what has previously appeared nonsensical may make sense, especially if someone somewhere is making money from the nonsense.
When the whole Michael Brown episode appeared out of nowhere, I am sure that I am not alone when I wondered, how is it remotely possible that a young man could end up dead for jaywalking? But perhaps part of the riddle has been solved by Newsweek, in an exemplary story displaying actual curiosity, investigation and journalism:
Please follow below for the story.
In this exceptional article by Victoria Bekiempis she draws our attention to:
Arch City Defenders: Municipal Courts White Paper
in which we discover
"Despite Ferguson's relative poverty, fines and court fees comprise the second largest source of revenue for the city, a total of 2,635,400," according to the ArchCity Defenders report. And in 2013, the Ferguson Municipal Court issued 24,532 arrest warrants and 12,018 cases, "or about 3 warrants and 1.5 cases per household."
Is there another city or town anywhere that averages 3 warrants per household?
Further we learn of a city which uses the oppression of its poor minority population in a concentrated and what appears to be, conscious, effort to exploit them by issuing an alarming and disproportionate amount of tickets and warrants in the first place and then driving up the costs of these offense exponentially through such trickery as:
(Again from the Newsweek article citing the ArchCity Defenders report)
Exacerbating the problem, the report says, are "a number of operational procedures that make it even more difficult for defendants to navigate the courts." A Ferguson court employee reported, for example, that "the bench routinely starts hearing cases 30 minutes before the appointed time and then locks the doors to the building as early as five minutes after the official hour, a practice that could easily lead a defend net arriving even slightly late to receive an additional charge for failure to appear."
This is horrible. On the heinous scale it is just below the judges in Pennsylvania who sent juveniles off to private for profit prisons in order to earn kickbacks.
It might be instructive to ask what would have happened to Michael Brown if his jaywalking offense had been handled in what appears to be the "normal" manner in Ferguson. Based on what the above, I would have to think that he would be issued summons for jaywalking and then might possibly have been obstructed from appearing, adding additional warrants and fines that he would not have been able to pay. And that's probably the BEST outcome he could have hoped for.
He might also have been arrested for shoplifting, assault and jaywalking, all with escalating penalties and punishments - he may have found himself to be labeled a felon, in which case his hopes for a future would have been dashed as most companies require background checks and bonding.
Very simply, a town that bankrolls itself through racial profiling and harassment of minority citizens in penny ante driving violations which are then ratcheted up in both costs and ramifications through manipulative measures, is EXACTLY the kind of place where a jaywalking offense would spiral out of control.
There really is something very systemically awful going on in that town and it took the death of black teenager to draw world's eyes to it.
In Ferguson Missouri, it would seem that the future of Michael Brown became irremediably clouded once he jaywalked and drew police attention to himself.
I understand that the town of Ferguson has hired a PR firm.
One of the things that have come out is that the power structure in Ferguson is almost exclusively Caucasian despite the fact that the 2010 census showed a 70/30 ratio of African Americans vs White population. Yet, despite this, according to The LA Times
Ferguson's police chief and mayor are white. Of the six City Council members, one is black. The local school board has six white members and one Latino. Of the 53 commissioned officers on the police force, three are black, said Ferguson Police Chief Thomas Jackson.
How can this be? we ask ourselves.
Well, one of the fruits of disparate policing and the spiraling of charges and the mass transformation of an entire population into fugitives due to outstanding bench warrants is that that same population has now been successfully disenfranchised of their vote. Felons don't vote* and fugitives don't vote.
Could that possibly provide part of the answer for the imbalance at the top in Ferguson? Is Ferguson an example of a perfect alignment of how imbalanced policing leads to imbalanced justice leads to imbalanced representation and voter suppression?
The lessons to be taken away from Ferguson and Michael Brown's death are many. I hope that his death may lead to changes in Ferguson, and in Missouri and in our country at large.
*(To be clear, the law in Missouri seems to be that felons may re-instate their right to vote and re-register once all sentences, probation, and parole have been completed)
On Mon, Aug 25, 2014 at 11:34 PM,
We have a moment now after the death of Dillon Taylor (white guy) and Michael Brown (black guy) to have a serious talk about the militarization of police department's writ large. We have a moment to realize that race is important, but so is class and the bigger issue is that our cops are not close quarter's combat (CQC) soldiers. Until we grapple with the latter, the former two will not matter. We will always have race and class, sex and gender, etc. What we can affect is the militarization of police departments. It goes beyond weapons, but to an entire attitude centered on a perversion of protecting and serving. Police service like all public service is noble. There are amazing police officials that do excellent work protecting the public and the peace. That notwithstanding, if cops want to engage in military style CQC efforts then they should join the military. Law enforcement, as we saw during Ruby Ridge and the Branch Davidian standoffs, can go too far. We don't know why Misters Brown and Taylor were shot. Perhaps the cops feared for their lives. There really is no way to know, what is clear is the paramilitary approach should be used sparingly if at all. If military force is needed, and then get this, deploy the National Guard (yes it's what MO ultimately did). They are trained to deploy military processes because, well, they are military.
Now for the racial profiteers, the dead white guy presents a problem. They can't make money or grow influence if they elevate the dead white guy story. All the propaganda masks a fact that was common to both dead young men. They were working class to poor. Instead of working towards common ground around looking at police use of deadly force or anything that could benefit all. The liberal advocacy industrial complex has Michael Brown; the conservative advocacy industrial complex has Dillon Taylor. What's sad is nothing will happen long term. Well except for a wealthy person getting slapped on the wrist for racing police in an expensive sports car, or shooting a man in their living room. Money it seems heals even the racial divide.
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